For the wood I used sustainably grown, eco friendly redwood 1×8's that I got at Homedepot. For the bottom and back boards I reused some old plywood that was left in my home since the 60's. So, the only thing not eco friendly/re-purposed would be the threaded rods and nuts.

Finishing Technique

To faux age the wood I used a steel wool/vinegar solution I read about online. Here's the link http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/how-to-age-wood-tutorial-guest-post-from-que-linda. My final ratio was about 8-to-1, 8 parts water/vinegar solution 1 part my solution. This project was done over 6 months (I really only had a few hours here and there to work on it) so the solution had a long time to settle and become quite potent. When I started, my ratio was probably 4 to 1